Plant-based Lasagna

48 oz your favorite ragu/red/marinara/spaghetti sauce

1 box Oven-ready lasagna noodles

Cooking spray

1 8-9 inch lasagna pan, deep enough to make three layers

Mushroom & Walnut mince (see below) or your favorite vegan meat crumble

Vegan ricotta (see below)

1 package (7oz) Daiya mozzarella style shreds, or other vegan white cheese

1 container (4oz) Follow Your Heart parmesan style shredded cheese alternative

Mushroom & Walnut Mince:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced 

16 oz crimini mushrooms, minced

1/4 to1/2 cup walnuts, minced

1 tsp dried Italian herb blend

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt/pepper to taste

Vegan ricotta:

14 oz organic firm tofu, crumbled

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp corn starch, optional

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt, remember real ricotta is little salty

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 lemon, zested and then juiced

2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

4-5 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Handful of mozzarella style shreds

Handful of parmesan style shredded cheese alternative

Preheat oven to 375F (or 190C).

To make the mince, in a hot skillet, add olive oil, garlic, minced mushrooms and walnuts, herbs, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. Sauté on medium high heat until browned.  This will take a while.  It should have very little moisture by the end of cooking.  It should look like  loose sautéed, browned ‘hamburger’ crumbles/mince.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside for later use.

To make the ricotta, add crumbled tofu, optional cornstarch,  nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders, and the zest and juice of one lemon to a food processor (preferably) or a blender.  Process/blend tofu until it develops a large-grain texture that mimics ricotta.  DO NOT process/blend until completely smooth.  Alternatively, use a potato masher or fork to mash the tofu until you get the large-grain texture.  Transfer the prepared “ricotta” to a large bowl and stir in by hand the parsley, basil, and vegan cheeses.  Set aside for later use. 

To construct the lasagna, lightly coat the lasagna pan with cooking spray.  

Then ladle enough red sauce to cover the bottom of the pan.  Place one layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce.  Then smear 1/3 of the ricotta  to cover the noodles.  Sprinkle one third of the mince on on top of the ricotta.  On top of the mince, sprinkle a small handful of vegan cheeses.  Ladle more red sauce to cover the cheese.  

Then repeat the layering process above two more times ending with a generous sprinkling of vegan cheeses on the very top of the lasagna.   Cover the lasagna pan with foil and cook at 375F (190C) for one hour.  Then remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes to  slightly brown the top cheese layer.  Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow to sit/cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.  Garnish servings with any leftover red sauce and cheeses.